Medicare, Gaps, Safety Net (Part 2) - How do I make a Medicare Claim?

With the recent discussion of paying $7 to see a General Practitioner (GP) in the budget, it seems it will be the demise of Bulk Billing.

But what exactly is Bulk Billing? When do we pay extra and how much do we get back from Medicare? What does the safety net mean? And what's the difference between scheduled fee and Australian Medical Association recommended fees? What's the Medical Levy Surcharge?

The system is indeed very complex. I hope this series about Medicare would help explain how it all works. In this post, I will focus on how to make a claim from Medicare?

When you see a doctor who does not bulk bill, you can make a claim from Medicare. This can be done in various ways.

1. You can register on my.gov.au for a myGov account and link your Medicare account to it. You can claim up to $250 per day and $550 per month. However, you can only certain types of claims can be made. A detailed list can be found here [1]
2. You can go directly to a Centrelink or Medicare Office. You must bring your Medicare Card and Receipt with you to lodge the claim. Most offices now require you to submit your bank details and your benefits will be directly sent to your nominated bank account. If you don't want to wait in line at the office, you can always fill in a claim form and place it in the drop box in the office. 
3. You can also claim by mail by downloading the claim form online and mailing the form with the receipt to Medicare.
4. You can also do it over the phone.
5. Finally, your doctor may have the facility to claim at their practice.

How much you can get back from Medicare will depend on the scheduled fee, the Safety Net, the Extended Medicare Safety Net and how much your doctor charges. I will elaborate this on the next post.

References

[1] Lodging a Medicare Claim Online, Department of Human Services.

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Medicare, Gaps and Safety Net (Part 1) - Bulk billing